Remarkable images of British women soldiers attempting to win the battle for “hearts and minds” in Afghanistan are to go on show to mark Poppy Day.

The pictures offer a fascinating insight into the work of “female engagement officers”, who accompany infantry troops on patrols and speak to Afghan women - something male soldiers are forbidden to do by local custom.

They also show how the women soldiers, who have been taught to speak Pashto, cope with life on the front line, from having to shower alongside their male comrades to how they spend their downtime - washing their underwear and watching Downton Abbey.

The images were captured by photojournalist and former RAF officer Ali Baskerville, who spent six weeks in Helmand earlier this year embedded with a British battle group after being commissioned by the Royal British Legion.

On one occasion she was photographing Captain Anna Crossley, 31, a nurse at UCLH Hospital, speaking to a group of Afghan women in a compound when the atmosphere suddenly changed. As the made a quick exit they came under sustained gunfire and had to run for their lives.

Ms Baskerville said the pictures showed there was much still to be done in Afghanistan, despite the planned withdrawal of British troops in 2014.

“I think I’m also trying to show the alternative view of life on the front line for women,” she said. “Underlying this are the difficulties of being a woman in an incredibly suppressive country, and the limitations of being a woman in the Army. They both have their own struggles of acceptance in fitting in.

“I don’t want to highlight that these women are exceptional or different from men. They want to show they’re doing this job - to them a very essential job - and it’s their passion and drive to do it well.

“It was nice to ‘lift the uniform off’ and capture all the things they liked to do, like watching Downton Abbey. I’m just trying to show the human element of being a female soldier.”

Captain Crossley said her job was to “talk to anyone and keep communities connected”. She said the Afghan men thought she was “amusing”, and added: “They ask if I want an Afghan husband and why I do not have any sons.”

She said one of the highlights of her tour was “seeing the absolute fascination of women in a compound when I removed my helmet and protective glasses to speak to them in their own language”.

She said: “Women are known throughout the world to bring people together, to focus on family and community. Just by being female, even in military uniform, you are seen to promote such things and are therefore more accepted.”

Lieutenant French said: “The photographs demonstrate the more feminine traits of female soldiers, which is often considered negatively in the military, can be used as a strength on operations.

“Afghans traditionally recognise women as negotiators of reconciliation and I think the atmosphere FEOs create on the ground show this.”

Ms Baskerville said the female engagement officers faced a “constant struggle” to be taken on patrol by their infantrymen colleagues, many of whom failed to understand their role.

However a “mutual respect” existed as they lived side by side in military outposts. “I think they see women in the military quite differntly to their wives and girlfriends back home,” she said.

The idea was paying dividends with Afghan communities, she said. “The whole effect of taking off your helmet and showing your long hair to an Afghan family is going to be less intimidating than a bloke walking in with an interpreter.”

* The exhibition, The White Picture - The Hidden World of Women in Combat, runs at the Oxo Tower Gallery from October 25 to November 11.